New Americans encounter numerous obstacles, the language barrier being but one. Finding employment and learning to use technology are also daunting challenges. The Denver Public Library (DPL) and the Emily Griffith Opportunity School (EGOS) Language and Learning Center are both uniquely positioned to assist Denver’s immigrant community in reaching their goals to live happy and productive lives. A program for ESL students at the EGOS Language and Learning Centeraims to show them how the library can help them to develop and practice the skills they are learning in a computer class, and also to support the EGOS faculty and curriculum. Because the students speak very limited English, evaluating whether the program is helpful to them poses a challenge.

1. The
Library
as
Harbor

2. Reader, it is time for your tempest-tossed vessel to come
to port. What harbor can receive you more securely than
a great library? Certainly there is one in the city from
which you set out and to which you have returned after
circling the world from book to book.
{ Italo Calvino, If on a Winter’s Night a
Traveler, 1981

3. Denver Public Library and
Emily Griffith Opportunity School

4. Community Technology Center (CTC)
http://www.denverlibrary.org/ctc

5. Source: http://pmstudent.com/lessons-learned-in-project-management/
Evaluation & Lessons Learned

6. Source: http://denverlibrary.org/locations_map
Source:
http://www.toledoblade.com/South/201
2/01/11/Maumee-library-unveils-new-
system.html
• Library guide for ESL students
• Library instruction for teachers
• Easier registration for class visits and library cards
• More collaboration with EGOS library
• Evaluation
Coming soon . . .